With a conventional printing system, a single print job is typically processed by a single printer. Therefore, processing and printing time for the printing system is limited by the single printer. In addition, printing ability of the printing system is also limited by the single printer. The single printer, for example, may not accommodate all of the printing requirements such as text, graphics, color, etc. which may be required by the single print job.
To increase printing time and printing ability, therefore, printing systems have been developed which include multiple printers. Thus, a single print job may be distributed among multiple printers. If the print job is distributed among multiple printers, however, portions of the print job may be completed before others. As such, printers which have finished printing remain idle while the print job is being completed. Thus, idle printers are underutilized and overall processing time for the print job is hindered. In addition, subsequent processing of the print job is delayed. Collation of the print job, for example, cannot be performed until all portions of the print job are completed.
Accordingly, a need exists for a printing system which distributes a single print job among a plurality of printers, such that the printers complete the print job at substantially one time.